The invention relates to a refrigerator door handle, and more particularly, to an extruded decorative plastic handle cover having handle extensions on opposite ends thereof for covering a pull handle secured to a refrigerator door, or alternately, to an extruded decorative plastic pull handle provided with handle extensions on opposite ends thereof for mounting on a refrigerator door.
Refrigerator door handles are well known in the prior art. At the present time, functional refrigerator door handles are produced by using cast or stamped metals which are mechanically fixed to the front of the refrigerator door. Because these handles have an unsightly appearance, they are frequently produced with an insert fabricated from a decorative material, such as a heavy vinyl or film, or an extruded or plastic material, or an injection molded material with decorative color and texturing to compliment or match the door front of the refrigerator. To achieve a flowing design, these functional handles are frequently mated to handle extension parts which are a combination of a number of different parts in a variety of constructions. Some utilize a metal or extruded roll-formed track which is screwed to the face of the refrigerator with lips designed into the track to secure a snap-on cover made of metal, or extruded or injection molded plastic. Other designs include a rear track with some decoration on the outer surface which is designed to accept an insert having a variety of complimentary finishes.
The prior art refrigerator door handles require extensive labor costs in the assembly thereof, a large number of mechnical attachment devices, and frequently produce a refrigerator door handle with unsightly seams at the joining points of the extensions and the handle, and unsightly injection molded end caps or metal stamped end caps at the outer most extensions of these parts. Accordingly, in general, most of the prior art refrigerator door handles do not provide a smooth, clean appearance on the refrigerator door.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,745,656 discloses a refrigerator door handle including a pull handle, hand extension bases and a plastic handle cover insert with extensions on opposite ends thereof, and with numerous mechanical parts and attachment devices for the securement thereof. Other refrigerator door handles are disclosed in U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,648,411, 4,087,141 and 4,926,523.
Accordingly, there is presently a need for a refrigerator door handle that utilizes a decorative one piece extruded plastic profile to provide either the handle cover and extensions on opposite ends thereof or the pull handle with the handle extensions on opposite ends thereof, which reduces the number of parts required for the assembly and securement thereof so as to reduce the labor costs in connection therewith, which eliminates the requirement of unsightly end caps at the outer most extensions thereof, and which eliminates the unsightly seams at the joining points thereof between the handle and the extension.